What if everything — all of us, the world, the universe — was not real? What if everything we are, know and do was really just someone's computer simulation?

The notion that our reality was some kid on a couch in the far future playing with a computer game like a gigantic Sim City, or Civilization, and we are the player's characters, isn't new. But some physicists now think they know of a way to test the concept. Three of them propose to test reality by simulating the simulators.

The notion that reality is something other than we think it is goes far back in philosophy, including Plato and his Parable of the Cave, which claimed reality was merely shadows of real objects on a cave wall.

The notion that reality is something other than we think it is goes far back in philosophy, including Plato and his Parable of the Cave, which claimed reality was merely shadows of real objects on a cave wall.

The notion that reality is something other than we think it is goes far back in philosophy, including Plato and his Parable of the Cave, which claimed reality was merely shadows of real objects on a cave wall.

The rest, nothing but some Sci-Fi fanboys wasting research $.

Why not be open to the idea?

IDK. It just seems unbelievable and contrived to me. I will continue to believe 'I am' or maybe more accurately 'I and I are' until it is proven otherwise. I don't presume to know exactly what, where, when, or how 'we are'; but I feel I have to take a stand at existence being real.

Biggest plot hole in "The Matrix"....... why did the simulated world even have computers at all? Why didn't the machines simply make everyone believe it was 7th century Europe? Without computers in the Matrix, Trinity never would have been able to make contact with Neo.

tifosi77 wrote:Biggest plot hole in "The Matrix"....... why did the simulated world even have computers at all? Why didn't the machines simply make everyone believe it was 7th century Europe? Without computers in the Matrix, Trinity never would have been able to make contact with Neo.

Creating a world with computers was coded into a required "include file", which was running on the computer which created the machines.

What if everything — all of us, the world, the universe — was not real? What if everything we are, know and do was really just someone's computer simulation?

The notion that our reality was some kid on a couch in the far future playing with a computer game like a gigantic Sim City, or Civilization, and we are the player's characters, isn't new. But some physicists now think they know of a way to test the concept. Three of them propose to test reality by simulating the simulators.

Isn't that what theologists postulate often? We are the latest iteration of an experiment of a superior being? I heard he's going to hit the 'reset' button Friday, so we'll know soon...